Traitors and Heroes and... rose-colored glasses

( the views stated here are my very own and you are allowed to disagree... as long as you remember that I respect your right to your views and expect the same courtesy as well...after all, that is what America is all about)

In the news they are promoting the interview with Edward Snowden...
A kid who grew up in my area...
who actually was in elementary school with my son-in-law.

A poll of american viewers has 60% calling him a patriot...
40% a traitor.

I don't have any answers, but...
Seriously, does the American public believe that it is okay for one person to directly jeopardize the lives of operatives around the world because the public NEEDS TO KNOW?

Why do we need to know?
Does knowing make a difference?

Well, actually, I think it does make a difference.
In a bad way.

I know that there are things the government does that I do not know about...
I probably don't even agree with...
But, I accept that in order to make my world a safe place things get done.

Covert operations happen all over the world that John Q Public has no knowledge of...
But these operations make the world a safer place for John Q Public.

And when JQP finds out about these things what does he do?
He complains about the rights of people to privacy and full disclosure...

If JQP would step back and look at the operations that have been declassified and use his imagination to imagine what would have happened if any one of them had not been carried out...

What a very different world we would be living in.

One where we speak German?
One where there are no Jews or any organized religion?
One where Mother Russia is alive and well and covers the entire globe?
One where every state is a separate country?
One where being different, having an opinion, being able to voice an opinion, are punishable by death?

And the list could go on and on and on and on...

So, John Q Public...
instead of complaining about what you see as an infringement on your rights...
stop and think about those rights and why you are able to have them...

Those men and women who have been fighting and dying...
on and off the battlefields of the world...
since Columbus stepped foot in the Americas..
Those HEROES who have been striving to make a difference since the beginning...
They deserve respect...and the same rights as everyone else...

And try, just try, to wrap your mind around the idea that the rest of the world is not a nice place and is filled with bad people...
As is our own country...
and isn't making it harder for those bad people to win...
well, isn't that what all of this is really all about?

Not everything is black and white...
But looking at the world through rose-colored glasses isn't the answer either...

Writers Workshop... Texting from Teens

Today's blog  post is part of the infamous MAMA KAT's Writer's Workshop :

The Prompts:

1.) A recent text exchange that made you laugh.
2.) A blog post inspired by the word: misunderstood.
3.) Talk about a time one of your siblings made you angry.
4.) What you’re most looking forward to (or dreading) this Summer.
5.) A list of 10 things every parent needs to survive Summer.

I am using prompt 1... you knew that already from the title, right?

So,  SIX spent the Memorial Day weekend at the NCAA Lacrosse Championship games in Baltimore.

He went home with a teammate on Friday and I heard nothing from him all weekend.

He had been given money to buy food with and told to text me score updates and to just touch base now and again...

Let's just say that it was a good thing BratChild went with them on Sunday and kept in touch via text throughout the games...they weren't televised and Salisbury was playing!

 ( Salisbury girls won...men lost to Tufts but hey, it happens!)

So, Monday I spent the day out by the pool.

I had a couple Leinenkugles and a couple blue pina coladas...

And then SIX texted me...

SIX: I just got back

ME: Okay. Are they bringing you home or can you call [BratChild] she's at Josh's

SIX: alright man!

ME: Who won today? Did Duke win

SIX: YES! Their my favorite team!

SIX: Can you come get me?

I had to laugh because:

1) obviously he was high on life after watching his FAVORITE TEAM win the Championship

2) since when was Duke his favorite team anyway?

3) he apparently was not really reading my texts...

4) I did mention I had had some adult beverages throughout the day, right?

I did call him and explain that no, I could not come get him, but that TeenBoy would be coming to get him momentarily...

He made it home safe and sound and totally psyched for summer LAX season...

First game next Tuesday!

24 Is The New 50...That's What Kelly and Michael Said

A few years ago media was spreading around a little tidbit...

50 is the new 30...

Like all 50 year olds  were still young and vibrant and desirable...

But really it was for 50 year old women because we all know...
Men don't age...
They become distinguished and dashing and sexy with age...
While women?
Yeah, we just get old.

So today...just as I am on the cusp of 50...
I hear that 24 is the new 50...
And it is disheartening.

Due to higher stress levels and hectic schedules and trying to be and do everything...
Mental alertness, speech and vocabulary...
Memory...
and general fatigue...

Are creating a new generation of OLD PEOPLE...

So, here I am stuck between the Regal and Vibrant already 50's...
And the Haggard and Rundown 20-somethings...

Which makes me what?

48 and about to be fabulous?
or...
48 and so far over the hill that I should  just throw in the towel?

Me?
I say I am on my way to being more fabulous than I have ever been before...

What do studies and Kelly and Michael know anyway?

Modest is...As Modest Does?

Today's Post is using one of Mama Kat's  prompts...

                   And the winner is ...

                          Prompt #1!

A blog post inspired by the word: Modest

Modest is an adjective. The definition is as follows:

1) unassuming or moderate in the estimation of one's abilities or achievements.

2) relatively moderate, limited, or small

As I sit here thinking about this word I am struck by just how often it is used to describe so many things in life.

When starting out in your career...usually just out of school...your income is described as Modest by your parents when they talk to their friends because....

Well, paltry or measley just makes you sound like a slacker.

And your first home?

Yep, that's a modest row home or bungalow or cape cod...because telling your co-workers you live in a shoe box with windows would be humiliating... or a glorified shed.

And then there are the myriad decorating books that give advice on how to make your modest home, loft or efficiency appear larger, grander, more....everything.

As if your guests won't notice that the couch doubles as your bed or that your kitchen and bathroom  sink are one in the same.

Modest clothing covers those areas of the body that are considered improper to show...

but what exactly the criteria for that determination is seems to depend largely upon the person wearing them.

In Victorian times arms and ankles were not to be shown,...

but cleavage falling out so as to leave nothing to the imagination was okay....as long as you were of the upper classes...the poor people all seem to look  like nuns in comparison...

In the 40's ankles could be seen,.. but do not leave home 

with your head uncovered...even if you were wearing a ghastly rendition of a bird's nest or flower arrangement.

( which btw are neither unassuming nor moderate)

Modest attire in the 1960's and 70's consisted of mini skirts with slight v-necks, long sleeves...

( although being small or limited does seems to be appropriate here)

and bell-bottom skin tight low-cut pant suits often without the proper foundation garments...

and to think...

Those young girls are the Grandmas of today!

The concept of what Modest is has changed over the decades...centuries even.

But one thing remains the same...

Modest does not always mean bad...or good...

because really...

It's all in the eyes...

Or minds...

of the beholder....

or recent grad, or new home owner, or fashionista or...

TheBusyMom who really thinks that those girls at the Homecoming Dance last year ...

the ones that could not bend over without everyone in sight knowing they were wearing a thong and needed a serious Brazilian... 

Yeah...they looked a lot like this only make those black mesh thigh highs and 6 inch hooker heels!
(photo from www.walmart-people.com...yes, these people do walk around in public like this!)

Could benefit from someone teaching them the meaning of the word Modest...

and maybe a dictionary for Christmas so they can look up the definition of the word : Tacky

Spring, Spring...Wherefore Art Thou, Spring?

Spring seems to have sprung...

Well, at least as far as my daffodils and tulips are concerned.

Me?

Nope. Nada. It ain't happened...

Yet.

I  am reservedly optimistic that Spring will arrive...
Sometime.

Hopefully BEFORE Independence Day...

Hey, I'll even be really  optimistic and say before...

Father's Day?

BratChild and SIX have begun their lacrosse season,
and typically, this would signal the advent of Spring.

St.Patrick's Day SNOW... 3/17/2014... UGH!

But, I regret to say, NOT this year.

THIS year we had SNOW for St. Patrick's Day...
THIS year it is a balmy 40 degrees( compared to the -8 last week that is) and raining on the 19th of March...
THIS year the weatherman DARED to hint of the possibility of SNOW in the coming forecast...

THIS is the WINTER that will not leave.

Tomorrow, promptly at 12:26 pm Spring will arrive.
I  have no idea how anyone knows it will arrive at any precise time...
Unless it's coming by plane and that is when it's due to land...

However, as the optimist that I am...
I will be waiting with baited breath...
Winter sweaters folded and ready to be shoved into a bin for storage...
T-shirts and shorts neatly stacked on the closet shelves they occupy in the warm season...

Just  in case Spring really does arrive as scheduled...
AND she remembers to bring the sun and warm weather with her.

Life's Not Fair...or Maybe it's just the Paralympics that aren't?

Okay.
I know that some of you may not be watching the Paralympics like I am.


Hey, today is wheelchair curling and I LOVE curling...
on legs, on wheels, any curling is great to me!

Click this link to check out Paralympic News from Sichi, Russia

But seriously.

I was watching the Paralympics from yesterday....
Yes, I DVR'd them since they are only broadcast LIVE from RUSSIA...

which translates to O-dark-thirty here in the U S of A.

So, as I watched I noticed something...

well, 2 things actually...

that bothered me.

First, and don't get me wrong - I think ALL PARALYMPIC ATHLETES ARE AWESOME!

But, there are 3 categories for the skiing events.
Standing, sitting and visually impaired.

Me, if I had restricted or impaired vision I would not be hurtling to certain death on some sticks...
But I digress...

What bothers me is that the standing class has skiers with either an upper or lower limb issue.
In some cases there is one of each impaired or missing.
Now, doesn't it make sense that the person travelling on 2 legs is going to have a better time down the mountain than the one only using ONE LEG AND ONE SKI???

I mean, really, Super G on one leg at 70 miles an hour???
Can you say TOTALLY AWESOME?

So, my problem is that those athletes are given handicaps...
think golf--- sort of---
in an attempt to even out the field so to speak.

But really, if they can use 2 legs- whether they are real legs or prosthetic...
Why don't they have them run a separate race?

That brings me to the second issue I have...
this is with the sitting skiers.
Well, not the skiers themselves, but again that handicap.

Of course, those with a lower back injury or amputations below the knee will have better abdominal muscles and therefore better arm and core body strength to propel themselves, manage turns, etc.

Why can't there be a more specialized category based on injury level.

Some how it does not seem fair that a person streaking down the side of a mountain on one leg on a
 Super G course should be in the same race as the person doing it on 2 skis with 2 legs.

I'm just saying...

As an avid sports-person I understand that the competition is just that...a competition.
And that for many of the athletes the competition isn't against another athlete necessarily...
but rather against themselves...
to make a better time...
to succeed at a new sport...
maybe even to just finish the event...

This is hard for me...
I guess I wouldn't make a very good Paralympic Athlete...
or parent of one...
or spouse of one...
or friend of one...

Oh, HECK!
They probably wouldn't even let me stand on the sidelines and cheer...

For that matter, BratChild and SIX don't like me to do that...
(but I do it anyway...)

I guess I'll just have to accept that some things will never be fair...
well, not to me that is.

On The 3rd Day ...There was MORE Snow!

Yes.

The Fountain in My Front Yard Pond...Frozen...AGAIN

Today is the 3rd day of March and YES...

It is snowing...

AGAIN.

Have I mentioned how much I hate winter?

It's not the season that I hate,
But rather the bitter, never-ceasing cold.

I do not like outdoor winter sports...
flying head-long down a hill at 70 miles an hour...
with only a piece of flimsy wood attached to the bottoms of my feet...
AND NO RELIABLE STEERING DEVICE???

Yeah, so NOT on my list of stuff to do in the winter.

Me?
Hey, I love the outdoors.

I like to walk in the woods.
I love swimming.
Playing kickball.
And soccer.

Spending all day outside in the sun and warm breeze...

That is what I call living.

But...
NOT in winter.

In winter the sun is down when I get home from work at 7am
and down when I go to work at 10:30 at night.

In the winter the wind  is harsh and cold...the kind that chills you to the very marrow of your bones...
and no matter how hard you try...
somehow you can never get warm.

View from the family room doors ...dark and dreary

So, seeing yet more of the wintry mix that the mid-atlantic region is famous for..
I call it sneet-ice...
falling from skies painted a dusty grey...
not unlike the color of the dust bunnies I found under the couch the other day...
The ones large enough to start getting their own junk mail...



With NO SIGN OF THE SUN...

Makes me hate the ground hog...
I am convinced he is in cahoots with the electric company...

While he is holed up in a warm den slumbering away the rest of winter,
and most likely dreaming of SPRING...
the rest of the world can only look out their windows through a haze of blowing snow
at the ice that appears to wink mockingly at us...

Spring WILL come...
it always does.

But I'd really it to hurry up and get here already!

Math Is My Friend...okay, not really

Today's post is inspired by the Weekly Writer's Workshop prompt 
5.) Your least favorite subject in school.


And I bet you can tell what it was...

Yep, that's right, MATH!

I hated it.
So much so that I had panic attacks before quizzes.
I actually threw up before my Algebra 1 mid-term...

You would think that I was a terrible math student, right?
But, no.
I got all A's and B's.
I was a very good student...
I just did not 'GET' numbers without hours of studying.

And this was not the norm for me.

Me?
I took notes in my classes and did the drills and class work and homework...
and never looked at a single one of those notes again.

Writing the notes committed the information to memory in every class but one.

Math.

I still hate math.
I use it every day in my job and I am good at converting ml to cc to gr to oz...
I can calculate IV infusion drip rates and double check insulin injection doses with ease...

Or so it would seem to the casual observer.

In reality?

I am sweating on the inside and just hoping that the calculator comes up with the same answer that the calculation in my head did and that they both match the calculation from the pharmacy.

You see, as a nurse a medication error is THE WORST THING YOU CAN DO!

Or at least it is in my eyes...

So, Math is my least favorite subject from school...
but maybe that made it my best subject because I learned to always doubt my answer and double or triple check it...

And in my  line of work...
That  is a good thing!

Hashtag...what?

hash·tag

ˈhaSHtag/

noun

1. 1.

   (on social media sites such as Twitter) a word or phrase preceded by a hash or pound sign (#) and used to identify messages on a specific topic.

   "spammers often broadcast tweets with popular hashtags even if the tweet has nothing to do with them"
2. 
   

So this is the definition of hashtag I found online.

Who invented this?

And Why?

I do not know the answer to either of those questions 

But I do know that it has become a mainstay in the social interactions of teens everywhere.

They even SAY hashtag before they say something they want others to understand is important.

So here goes....

#ihatewinter

HASHTAG. I. Hate. Winter.

Okay,  Now what?

When Is a Pain In the Neck...Not?

Yeah, well...
Here in the NorthEast we have had a hard winter.
Now I know, people from that place called Minnesota or Wisconsin or Siberia, that 20 inches of snow in 2 months is no big deal...
To you!

But here, where an overnight accumulation of 2-3 inches is considered apocalyptic, 13 inches in less than 8 hours is, to some, a sign that the world is about  to end.

Not that I feel that way at all.
I am an equal snow-accumulation hater.
I don't care if it's half an inch or 13 inches...
It's snow and unless it's a holiday,
the kind where no one has to work or go to school...
I have no use for any of it.

Don't even get me started on how much I hate the cold...
and by cold I mean anything below 65 degrees farenheit!

So, imagine my dismay when the weatherman was wrong...again...
the only job where you can lie every day and still get paid...
and the 4-8  inches over 24 hours became 13 inches in about 7.5.

While I was at work.
Over night.
Did I mention that it was 13 inches...
and that for an hour before I got off work it was sleeting and snowing?

So yeah, it was a bunch of snow covered with a bunch or those little sleety ice pellets that make a crust to rival the most awesome artisan crusty bread.

And I did not realize any of this until...
I tried to open the door to go home.
And the snow was 3-4 inches up the door so it wouldn't open.
So I pushed.
And I kicked the snice (snow+ ice=snice...like it? It's mine and I'm gonna copyright it!)
and the sneet (snow+sleet=sneet...again, it's mine...copyright to me!)
and then  I shoved the door some more cuz...
I really do not fit through a 4 inch opening...
No, really! I don't!

And then...
something hurt in my shoulder.
But there was yucky stuff on the steps and the wheelchair ramp...
not that I could discern which was which...
so I cleared the shoveled the steps...
and the walkway so I wouldn't trip over the bushes...not that  I could tell where they were...

And somewhere between the door and the bottom of the steps my shoulder popped...
like snapping yourself with a rubber band.

And it hurt...for a minute.

I managed to get my vehicle out of the snow and into the tire rut left by a larger vehicle...
made my way to my driveway...
where I got stuck about 20 feet in.

But I was home.
And I was tired.
And cold.
And wet.
And sore.

A hot shower and some ibuprofen and my shoulder still hurt.
And my neck. And shoulder blade. And my arm won't work. And my hand won't work. And my thumb has gone numb...

And a trip to a doctor, or two...
Some x-rays and an MRI...
but wait!
No MRI cuz the health insurance says no...
And a diagnosis of a "possible torn rotator cuff"...
and now I wait.
With a shoulder/arm/hand/head/neck ache...

When is a pain in the neck not a pain in the neck...
when it's a pain in the shoulder and battling insurance makes it a pain in the butt.

Life is like a box of chocolates.... and my kids ate all mine! (it's a competitive thing)

Mama Kat's weekly post challenge has me revisiting an old post so...

This  is a re-post from 4 years ago...almost to the day! And it still applies...not sure if that makes me seem like a steady, reliable sort or if it's kind of sad...you can decide.

Original post  date 2/18/2010

Curling?
Curling.
Curling!

Yes. I love curling!
It's a strange sport. Sort of a cross between shuffle board and bowling? With some Chess or Backgammon-like strategy thrown in.
Oh yeah. It's all done on a sheet of ice. That they clean with a brush?

Sounds weird? It is. A little.
But, it's also addicting. A lot.

So much so, that I set aside things like vacuuming, doing dishes and sorting through the pile of mail that was held at the post office until the mail lady could access our mailbox after the Blizzard thaw.

I found that folding laundry while watching is possible. 
By this I mean running to the basement laundry room to throw a load in during the commercials.
Anything that can be done in 2 minutes or less is do-able.

Don't want to miss a single Stone being thrown down that sheet of ice...

It's ridiculous is what it is. But I can't help myself.

I know I am competitive, but Curling?

Yes, Curling.

It's a quietly, nail-bitingly tense, and often exhilarating, game of strategy.

It's an awful lot like life that way.

Throwing stones, sliding along the ice, trying to guide their path with a broom, hoping to make the better choices for the best possible outcome...

Sounds a lot like MY life anyway!

Just When You Think You've Got It All Figured Out...You Don't!

Yeppers!

That is EXACTLY the  way my life seems to go.

Oh, let me back up a bit in case you are new to my blog...
Or you have forgotten who I am since my last post was about a hundred years ago!

My name is Dawn- aka BusyMom.
I have a husband, HeMan Hubby, and 6 wonderfully appreciative and supportive and loving children...
Oh, all right!
I have 6 children...
who are all of those things,just not usually to any Parental Units...or not often anyway.

My oldest is GoodMom and she is 30-something and a great Mom to FancyPants and BabyG...ages 2 and 4.

SmartGirl is nearly 30 and looking  for Mr.Right-for-Life-not-just-for-now...anyone know any wonderful, smart, witty guys that would love to fall in love with a wonderfully loving,honest, smart and witty strong-willed girl? 
I mean seriously, where are young people supposed to meet the right person when all they do is work?

Number 3 child, ManChild, is my oldest son and will soon be hitting his mid-twenties. Which means that he will now be expected by all and sundry to have his act together. 
Early 20's, well you can get away with not  having a life goal but now... not so much.
Good thing he has one and is actively working toward it with his long-time girlfriend Jules...
who I hope to call daughter sooner rather than later...

TeenBoy is 18 and will graduate from High School in June... yeah, I know, no explanation required.


Last but not least are BratChild and SIX. 
BratChild is almost 17 and has a job and plays varsity sports and gets good grades...she is a dream ...well for a teenaged girl that is.

And then there was SIX... which is how he got the moniker...and he wishes it were is his real name. Go figure!
HeManHubby wanted to name him Six for real and I thought, "that poor kid will hate us for naming him that!". Quite erroneously as it turns out.
SIX is 15 going on 30. He is quietly reserved but he is quick with a joke and never an unkind word to anyone... he's the person no one can be mad or sad or depressed around. 

Many people think BratChild and SIX are twins. They are not, but only because they were born 17 months apart... other than that, yep, twins.

So, back to my regularly scheduled post for today...
I had time off work  while the people I work for went on vacation for 2 weeks in January.
Yeah, winter vacay!
No,  not really. Because...

The heat pump started acting up... oh and it has  black mold inside too...
Must be replaced! $$$$$$$

TeenBoy's car needs a little sensor to pass emissions...oh and it's 250.00!

Yearbooks- 3 of them- must be ordered ASAP...100.00 each?
Oh yeah Mom I need to order my cap and gown...45.00  please!

It's Okay I tell myself.  I'll work extra shifts for the next 2 months and it will all work out perfectly...

And then it snowed. And snowed. And snowed...then sleeted.
And I shoved my way out the door at work that had been iced/snowed shut.
And I hurt my shoulder.
And I cannot work.
And snow removal is not in my scope of practice so...
I can't work either job and I won't be getting paid either.

The best laid plans of Mice and Men...

Well, you get the picture...Just When You Think You've Got It ALL Figured Out...

YOU DON'T